After being hailed a “hero” for fending off an attacker in North Vancouver, biology teacher Shelah Klausen is shining the spotlight on many others who risked their lives that day.
The 50-year-old is one of six people who survived Saturday’s fatal stabbing.
She and her 10-year-old daughter were at a Lynn Valley library book fair when she saw a man sprint into the library and repeatedly stab a woman.
“Her first instinct was to stop him,” relayed sister Leah Michayluk said Michayluk. She told her young daughter to go run and hide, picked up her umbrella and ran towards the attacker.
“She started beating him to try to get him off,” said Michayluk, which prompted the man to target her. Klausen was stabbed at the back left side of her neck and on her finger.
“I am being called a hero, and I do not feel heroic at all because I couldn’t save her,” mourned Klausen. A woman died from her injuries.
My sister is alive â¤ï¸ love you so much Sheloah Klausen
Posted by Leah Carol Michayluk on Sunday, March 28, 2021
VIDEO: Suspect in custody after 1 woman dead, multiple stabbed in North Vancouver
The local high school teacher said the “real heroes” are bystanders who dove in to help, mentioning off-duty nurses and first responders who tended to victims on-scene.
“A woman I do not know clamped her hands on my neck to stop my spurting artery, I was told in the hospital that her action saved my life. She is a hero.”
“The men who chased the attacker outside, you are heroes,” Klausen said.
“All of you who ran to the horror and helped people, you are heroes.”
RELATED: Memorial grows as people pay respects to victims of North Vancouver library stabbing
Klausen is now recovering at home, grateful to have her daughter back in her arms and safe.
On Sunday, 28-year-old Yannick Bandaogo was charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing attack outside the Lynn Valley library.
Court records show Bandaogo has a violent criminal history and is wanted on warrants in Winnipeg.
READ MORE: Man charged in connection to fatal stabbing at North Vancouver library
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